Memories of You
by Mightier Than Sword
Summary: After Vegnagun is defeated and Spira is safe again, Yuna reflects on her life since her Pilgrimage and wonders what her future may hold. Spoilers for FFX & X-2.
1. Remembering You

**Introductory A/N: This is my first story, and kind of a test to see both how much interest there is in this kind of story, and how well received my writing will be. _Memories of You _ will only have about three chapters, but I have a longer and more original sequel in mind that I may write if I get enough feedback, so please R&R, and constructive criticism especially is greatly appreciated.**

**This story contains spoilers to both FFX and FFX-2, and is essentially my take on the events leading up to the good ending after the defeat of Vegnagun. Flashbacks (which are plentiful) to both X and X-2 are denoted by **_**italics**_**.**

**Obligatory Disclaimer: I do not own FFX or X-2 or any of these characters.**

**What? Oh, you actually want to read the story and not just my rambling? OK, here it is, remember, please R&R!**

**After Vegnagun is defeated and Spira is safe again, Yuna reflects on life since her Pilgrimage and wonders what may be if the Fayth are able to make good on their promise. Spoilers for FFX & X-2.**

* * *

Yuna's eyes sparkled like the water below her as she overlooked Spira's oceans of cool, calm water, its forests of lush flourishing trees, and its villages of people who finally could live their lives with hope and happiness, instead of fear and despair. "Maybe now I'll finally be able to join them," she realized from atop the deck of the airship _Celsius_. After all, Vegnagun was gone and Spira was safe again, so didn't she deserve a break?

"Brother, higher!" She called out to the self-proclaimed captain of the airship.

"Roger!"

She fell back slightly as the airship began to ascend, "Brother, faster!" She commanded again.

"Roger!"

"I can't hear you!" Yuna responded with a laugh.

"ROOOOOOOGEEEEEEEEER!!!" Brother shouted over the intercom.

Yuna laughed, as she took in everything again, the crisp cool breeze, the roar of the airship, the world below her, and her two best friends behind her: Rikku, her cousin, and Paine, a fellow sphere hunter.

She had changed so much since her adventure began, she hardly even recognized herself anymore, "So much has happened, and I'm sure it's only the beginning, through the smiles and tears, through the anger, and the laughter that follows. I know that I'll keep changing. This is my story. It'll be a good one!"

As she thought back to the beginning of her journey, Yuna concluded, "It all began, when I saw this sphere… of you."

Yuna's smile slowly faded when this thought pervaded her mind.

_Him_—the guardian from whom she had been so cruelly separated two years earlier. After she had defeated Sin and brought hope and happiness to all the people of Spira she had been left miserable because of his disappearance, because he was nothing more than a dream of the Fayth, and because, in spite of all this, he had stolen her heart. She knew now that he was a dream, no more real than a figment of the imagination. But once, he had been real; he felt real, he acted real, and, she hoped, he would soon be real again.

Until then, all she could do was smile, wait, and dream. She remembered telling him, _"I learned to practice smiling when I'm feeling sad."_

At the time, she was referring to the sadness caused by Spira's circle of death, sadness for not only her own death to defeat Sin, but for the inevitable suffering that Sin caused the people of Spira. Now Sin was gone forever and she was still alive, yet she still was never completely happy, because no matter what she did, no matter how much fun she was having, something was missing—he was missing, but regardless of these feelings, she still smiled constantly. She smiled at the celebration of the coming of the eternal Calm, she smiled at home, in Besaid, she smiled around her friends, because she didn't want them to worry, and she smiled among strangers because she was supposed to be happy. She even smiled when she whistled, asking him to come running, to come to her again, to hold her forever, and to give her a real reason to smile. His whistle would change all that, it had done so since the very first time she heard it…

_...It was two years ago, she was in Luca searching for her father's guardian, Sir Auron. As she looked out over the water, she worried about getting separated from her guardians in the crowded city. Suddenly Yuna heard him call her name, followed by a sharp whistle. _

_ "What was that?" Yuna wondered aloud._

_ He laughed gently, and then ran over next to her. "You try it too. Put your fingers in your mouth like this." He demonstrated, placing to fingers in his mouth even before he had finished talking, distorting his voice._

_ "Like this?" She tried imitating him._

_ "Uh-uh, not like that. Like this."_

_ She tried again and he nodded. "Then you just blow."_

_ She blew on her fingers, but no whistle came. _

_ "It's not working!" She cried, trying to hide her frustration._

_ "Practice!" He encouraged her, and then promised, "Hey, use that if we get separated. Then, I'll come running okay?"_

And practice she had. She learned to whistle quickly, just days after he first showed her, but since his disappearance she'd found herself whistling almost as often as smiling.

"But you haven't come running!" Yuna thought. She had whistled in Luca, she had whistled in Macalania, and she had whistled at home in Besaid, yet he failed to come running. He failed to keep his promise to her.

Yuna shook her head as if to shake off the memories of her past, the memories of him, lest they become any more painful. She knew they would; they always did when they turned to him. What was worse, she was getting angry, and she knew it was not his fault, because he was just a dream… no, he was not just a dream, not just her love, but her savior. He was the reason that she had not died two years ago, like all the high Summoners before her. The reason that she had a chance at life and that Sin was gone for good. Ironically, his determination to save her life, combined with her resolve for complete victory, had cost him his own life. When Sin was defeated, the Fayth stopped dreaming. When the Fayth stopped dreaming, their dream, and her reality, were lost.

Yuna felt tears welling up in her eyes, but she suppressed them and smiled, like she had countless times before. "No," she thought, "not again, not today. Today is a day to celebrate our victory, not to mourn my loss." Her eyes lit up as she continued, "Besides, the Fay—"

"Hey Yunie!" Rikku shouted from behind her, interrupting her thoughts.

Yuna smiled and turned to face her cousin, grateful for the distraction, "Yes Rikku?"

"Are you sure that you don't want to go back?" Rikku asked, "The people would love to see you, and we could still get there in time to party with everyone!"

Paine sighed, looked over to Rikku and muttered, "I thought that we had already discussed that."

"Aw, c'mon Paine! Don't be such a meanie. What do ya think Yunie?"

Yuna's smile faded, and she felt the sadness return. Baralai, Nooj, and Gippal were delivering a speech to Spira not unlike the "victory" speech she had given following Sin's defeat.

"_Everyone... everyone has lost something precious. Everyone here has lost homes, dreams, and friends. Everybody, now Sin is finally dead." She paused as the crowd applauded._

"_Now," she continued "Spira is ours again. Working together, now we can make new homes for ourselves, and new dreams." _

_The crowd began cheering, and she continued over them, "Although I know the journey will be hard, we have lots of time. Together, we will rebuild Spira. The road is ahead of us, so let's start out today." _

_She paused once again for applause and looked behind her for support, to see her remaining guardians grinning at her and silently cheering, making the absences in their ranks that much more notable. How could she continue? How could anyone continue when they had lost so much? But she had to, because that's what he would have wanted, that's the reason he continued to fight Sin even after he learned what it would cost him, and what she would have wanted had she performed the Final Summoning. Still, she had to honor his memory, and the memories of everyone who had been lost in the battle to defeat Sin._

_She turned to the crowd again, "Just, one more thing. The people and the friends that we have lost," she paused again and said, barely audible "or the dreams that have faded…" before concluding to the stadium, "never forget them."_

It was a bad memory for her. She knew it was selfish, but it had pained her to be delivering a victory speech in a stadium full of thousands people who had finally found their happiness in Sin's defeat while hers had literally disappeared. The thought of addressing the people of Spira like that again without him by her side was still unbearable.

"Yunie?" Rikku snapped her back to reality.

She turned away and wiped off her tears again, and said, just loudly enough to be heard over the engine, "I'm sorry Rikku, but I'd rather not. I'm sure that Nooj, Gippal, and Baralai are fine without us."

Rikku and Paine looked at each other. Rarely had they seen her switch so quickly from jovial to…quiet and sad. In fact, it was almost unheard of for her to show sorrow at all.

"Is she ok?" mouthed Paine to Rikku.

Rikku sighed and shook her head. "I don't know, one minute she's telling Brother to do loop de loops and the next she's… like this. I hope Yunie's not thinking about him again."

Paine lowered her head, and shook it slightly, "I really wish I could have met him. He must be something real special if Yuna's waited two years for his return like this. Hell, she only joined the Gullwings after Rikku showed her the sphere of him—even though it ended up being that bastard Shuyin," Paine thought as she looked back up at Yuna.

Yuna had reassumed her place on the deck, as well as her smile, though this one was different; it was genuine. She had pushed her sadness and bad memories away by allowing herself to think back to her encounter with the Fayth three days ago, just after they had defeated Vegnagun and freed Shuyin and Lenne in the Farplane.

_She heard his whistle again at last. The same whistle she had longed to hear for two years. She had heard it in the Farplane before, but this was different. The last time she had needed help, and he had called out to her, materializing long enough to lead her back to the light. This time, she needed no such help, her job was done, but she heard him just the same. When she looked around expecting to see her lover again, she instead saw the Fayth of Bahamut. After he thanked her, he asked her a single question, a question she would never forget._

_ "You want to see him?"_

_ Her heart began racing, and Yuna found herself at a complete loss for words. Finally she managed to stammer "h-him?"_

_ "Yes. You want to walk together again?"_

_ Yuna's mouth still wasn't working right, but she was finally able to nod._

_ The Fayth smiled, "I can't promise anything, but we'll do what we can."_

_ Then he had left her, alone, to contemplate his words._

"It was a silly question, really," she pondered with a smirk, "What else would I have said? No? It's better this way? After crossing Spira countless times in the hope of finding something that led to him?" she trailed off.

She hadn't told anyone about this encounter, not even Paine and Rikku. They'd been worried about her recently, and she didn't want to burden her two best friends with any visions that they couldn't see.

This troubled her though. Even though they were right there with her, no one else had seen the Fayth speak with her in the Farplane. While this was not unexpected, since the Fayth had demonstrated to ability to appear at will to only a select few in the past, she couldn't help but wonder if she was succumbing to wishful thinking.

"No," she thought, "if I were just fantasizing, he would have come back to me in the Farplane. Not the Fayth, no matter how good his message was."

But then, she had to wonder, how good was the news really? The Fayth had explicitly promised her nothing, and his offer had been to walk with him. But how long was this walk? No more than a brief visit? An hour, a day, a week perhaps? Enough time to catch up, enough time for her to remember how happy she was with him, and enough time to remember his face, his smile, his voice, his hair, his touch, only to have him ripped away, only to watch him disappear again?

She shuddered. That would be worse than not seeing him at all. To experience the depression that she had felt two years ago again, magnified by the false hope brought from having him back, she didn't know how she would go on if that happened.

On the other hand, there was the hope that he would be by her side much longer than that. Not days, months, years, or even decades, but a lifetime. "No, not a lifetime," Yuna corrected herself, "not until the end, always." She smiled and whispered "just like you promised me."

_Yuna remembered that magical night at the spring in Macalania. It was where she first realized how deeply he cared for her. It was where they first kissed. It was where she finally had to admit to herself that she loved him._

_ He had come to apologize to her for his own naivety, and to dissuade her from continuing the journey which would claim her life. _

_He said, "Yuna, just don't do it… forget about Sin, about being a Summoner. Forget all that. You know, live a normal life." _

_She watched him considering his words as he swam through the spring. He seemed so relaxed in the water. She couldn't help but admire his demeanor, and she couldn't help but admire him. Something about him made Yuna doubt herself, something that hadn't happened in a very long time. "Maybe I will." She said after a pause, already feeling as if a great burden were lifted off her shoulders. _

_He stopped, and swam over to her. Why did he make her feel this way? This wasn't the first time that she had been asked to give up her pilgrimage. Lulu and Wakka had tried desperately to make her reconsider until she finally received her first Aeon, but when he asked her she not only considered it, but began to wonder about what her life could be, what the future might hold if she actually had one. _

"_No" she thought, "this isn't right! I've come so far, I can't just give up now. I'm Spira's light in the darkness! I can't let them down, not after everything I've been through! Not for anything. Not even myself. I have to continue." _

"_I can't. I just can't," she said as she broke down, and for the first and only time on her pilgrimage, cried for the sacrifice that she was making for Spira._

_He watched her for a moment, as her tears fell into the water around her. He wanted to make her happy, but he needed her to understand how much he cared about her, how worried he was about what she was going through for the rest of Spira. _

_He came to apologize to her for his own naivety, and to dissuade her from continuing the journey which would claim her life, but he stayed to comfort her after she considered his proposition, but realized that it was impossible. He consoled her by placing his strong arms on her shoulders, calling her name softly, looking into her eyes, and sharing with her their first and only kiss. _

_She had never given any hope to feeling what she felt at that moment. As he touched her, as he held her, as they fell under the water, and as he gently caressed her face, she felt love, blissful and romantic love. It terrified her. Never in her wildest dreams had Yuna imagined that someone would get so close to her. She had been preparing to become a Summoner since before she knew what love really was. Now that she felt it, she was afraid, because for the first time in her life, she had something to live for, and as much as that made her want to just give in to his earlier suggestion, to give up everything she had worked for, she had already realized that it was too late to turn back—it was too late for her._

_She had to tell him. He deserved to know and to understand after what he had given her._

"_I'll continue," she informed him softly, "I must." He grunted._

_She persisted "If I give up now, I could do anything I wanted to, and yet, even if I was with you, I could never forget."_

_His reaction, "I'll go with you." _

"_Wha—" Yuna cut herself off. She expected him to scream, to yell, to cry, to do whatever it took to make her see things his way. Instead, he understood. _

"_I'm your guardian… unless I'm fired"_

_She giggled, "Stay with me, until the end, please."_

"_Not until the end, always."_

_ At that comment, Yuna allowed a subtle smile. If nothing else it was a wonderful sentiment, and she wished from the bottom of her heart that he would find some way to make it come true. So she conceded, "Always then."_

"Always," Yuna echoed.

"Yuna?" Paine called.

"Hmm?" She faced her friends, and noted the concern on both their faces.

"I thought you'd said something."

"Oh, sorry," Yuna answered as she stood and walked to the edge. "I just wanted to get a better view."

Paine and Rikku exchanged a glance.

"Yuna?" Paine tentatively asked again.

Yuna turned around again.

"Is…is something bothering you? I really don't mean to pry, but you just haven't seemed like yourself these past few days, and I was, uh, we were just—"

"We're worried about you, Yunie," Rikku interrupted. "You've just been acting so strange since we beat Vegnagun, and we wanted to know what was going on and if there was anything we could do to help."

Yuna was taken aback by both her cousin's unexpected bluntness and Paine's concern. Normally Rikku was the outgoing, fun-loving, and bubbly character, forgoing any and all seriousness whenever possible, while Paine kept to herself; she was quiet, focused, sarcastic when she could be and serious otherwise. The fact that they were both worried instead of bickering like usual led Yuna to realize that she hadn't been concealing her emotions as well as she thought.

Finally Yuna replied, "I'm fine. I'm just worried, you know? I… I'm not really sure what I'm going to do now that Vegnagun is gone. I'd kind of like to relax and enjoy not saving the world for a while, but I don't want to go back to my life before the Gullwings either."

"Aww, Yunie!" Rikku ran up and embraced her "who said we're done being Gullwings? Just because we're finished saving Spira doesn't mean we're done hunting spheres or fighting meanies and fiends." Rikku let go and started to bounce excitedly.

Yuna giggled, "I don't know about you girls, but I wouldn't mind being done fighting 'meanies and fiends' for a while."

Paine laughed, "Hey, what am I supposed to do around here if I'm not saving your butts constantly?"

Rikku turned, "You? Save US? Must I remind you of the Greater Drake we fought back in Djose?"

Paine snorted, "That only happened once. How many times was I defending you when you were face down in the dirt when we were fighting some puny little excuse for a…"

Yuna couldn't help but smile and shake her head. They were at it again, so everything was back to normal.

Yuna turned and walked to the gull statue on the front of the airship, and she considered what Rikku had said, about her future as a Gullwing. Part of her wanted to forget her troubles and continue on as she had. Although she had come for a chance to find him, she had stated because she enjoyed being a sphere hunter, but something was missing. She had sworn two years ago to never forget her faded dream, and without him, Yuna could never be complete. Without him, Yuna would never be truly happy.

Yuna closed her eyes and stretched her arms out to either side of her as if she were flying, floating effortlessly across the sky, like the statue before her. She felt the heat of the sun on her face and arms, and the fresh breeze whistling past her.

"Please," Yuna wished aloud, "please come back to me."

"Tidus."


	2. Doubting You

**Flashbacks denoted by **_**italics.**_

**I do not own Final Fantasy X, X-2, or any of these characters.**

* * *

Stray pyreflies hovered underwater around a young man in a fetal position. He had spiked blond hair and was dressed in an open yellow and blue shirt with short navy blue overalls.

He had a strange feeling come over him, one he had not felt in a long time. Such a long time, that it was almost foreign to him. Almost.

"I'm—alive?" He wondered, as he stretched, opened his eyes, and felt himself move again for the first time in two years. "I'm alive! But, where am I?" Then he noticed something floating next to him, "A pyrefly? I must be back in Spira! That means… I have to find Yuna!" The young man, Tidus, swam towards the surface, with his trademark grin plastered on his face, determined to figure out where he was and how to find Yuna again.

As his head broke the surface, he looked around, and spotted a small island not far from him. "That's Besaid! That's where Yuna lives!" His heart was pounding so hard from his excitement he was afraid it would explode out of his ribcage.

He had to call to her, to let her know he was back, to tell her to come running.

"_If we should get separated, just whistle. I'll come running, I promise."_ He remembered her promise to him, modeled after his own.

He took a deep breath, placed two fingers gloved fingers in his mouth and whistled as loudly as he could.

* * *

Yuna's eyes shot open as she froze. Could it be? After all this time, had she just heard what she'd been waiting for? Was it just the wind? Or her ears playing tricks on her? No, she knew what she had heard. "It's him," she turned around and beamed, "It's him!"

Rikku and Paine looked at her, confused. "Who are you talking about Yunie?"

Yuna ran to the lift and shouted, "He's come back! He's finally come back!"

Paine was still confused, and slightly concerned by this sudden outburst, "Yuna, who are you talking about? What happened?"

Rikku, her mouth agape in shock, watched until the door to the elevator shut. There was only one explanation for why her cousin was acting this way.

"It's Tidus!" She turned to Paine.

"Her boyfriend who vanished? I thought he wasn't real. I mean, we did kill him, or his doppelganger or whoever Shuyin was."

Rikku grinned, "I knew he'd be back some day! And if Yunie says it's him, maybe he finally found a way to come back! C'mon let's go find out!" She ran to wait for the elevator to come back.

Paine slowly walked to the elevator, "There is another explanation you know," she said casually.

"Huh?" Rikku looked confused, what other explanation could there be?

"Maybe she's lost it. Which sucks, 'because I bet Buddy 10 gil you'd crack before Yuna did." Paine replied with a smirk.

Rikku glared at her, and was about to reply when the elevator arrived and Paine pushed her aside, walked on, and quickly shut the door, making her wait for the next one.

"Hey!" Rikku pounded on the door as it closed, "Humph, meanie." She sulked.

Below on deck, Yuna was already ordering Buddy to change course towards Besaid, the source of the whistle. She couldn't explain how she knew that was where he was, she just felt it somehow.

"Wait a minute, I'm the leader!" Brother began to protest in his broken English, but he quickly added, "And I say we listen to Yuna, full speed ahead!"

Yuna giggled and Buddy rolled his eyes as he changed course.

Unfortunately, Besaid was a long way from their current position. They had been taking a joy ride after leaving the ceremony in Luca, in no hurry to go anywhere, even home, after the ordeal that they had been through. Now Yuna wished she had insisted on going straight to Besaid. With her extra down time, she began to think too much, and became nervous.

"What if he isn't there? It was almost halfway across Spira, how could I hear him anyway?" She began to pace back and forth, "What do I say to him after all this time? Will he even remember our time together?" Her heart sank, "will he even want to stay here?"

Throughout her pilgrimage, Tidus had talked about Zanarkand. His Zanarkand, how wonderful it was, how he wanted to go home, and even how he wanted to take Yuna there.

_"Let's go to Zanarkand." _

_ It was that wonderful night in Macalania again. Tidus was trying to convince Yuna to give up her pilgrimage, trying, like he always did, to save her._

_ "Huh?" She gasped, confused. Had he given up? Zanarkand was the final stop on her pilgrimage._

_ "Ah… not the one in Spira, the one I'm from." He clarified quickly._

_ "Oh." She sighed. She was suddenly curious. What was his home like? She had long since accepted the fact that he wasn't from Spira. In fact, she had been the only one who had never doubted it. But she had never considered what his home was like, and how it could be different than Spira. _

_ "Everyone can go, then we'll have a big party at my place," he continued._

_ The idea seemed so appealing suddenly, going to an exotic location with her friends just to relax, and all without the fear of Sin. "And then we could see blitzball," she replied, with excitement building in her voice._

_ "That's right!" _

_ "Your Zanarkand Abes would play?" _

_ "Yeah!"_

_ "We could all watch you play, in the stadium lit up at night. I'd cheer and cheer 'til I couldn't cheer anymore!" _

_ "Right on!" Tidus seemed a little surprised by her sudden interest, but he whole-heartedly encouraged it nonetheless. _

_ "Well, what about after the game?" She continued._

_ "Um… we'd go out and have fun."_

_ "In the middle of the night?" She asked incredulously._

_ Tidus laughed, sometimes, he still forgot how different Spira and Zanarkand were. "No problem! Zanarkand never sleeps." He paused thoughtfully for a moment, looking at the scenery around him, as he recalled images of his home._

_ "Let's go to the sea, before the sunrise." He explained his home slowly, deliberately, and passionately, "The city lights go out, one by one, the stars fade, then the horizon glows, almost like it's on fire. It's kinda rose-colored, right? First in the sea, then it spreads to the sky, then the whole city. It gets brighter and brighter till everything glows." He concluded, almost sheepishly, "It's really pretty. I know you'd like it."_

"I'd really like to see it, Tidus," Yuna sighed. "But do you still want to take me?" What if he had gone back to Zanarkand, back to his home, after he disappeared? Would he really want to come back? It had been two years, after all, and two years in a city that never sleeps must seem like an eternity. Certainly enough time for him to have almost forgotten about his entire adventure in Spira, about her, and about the others, and all she had done was call him back. She had never really considered that he may not feel the same way about her as she did about him, and though she hadn't truly been happy for over two years that didn't mean that he wasn't.

"I never let go, but what if…what if he did?"

Suddenly, Rikku burst into the bridge and jumped over the railing, nearly tackling her cousin in the process.

"Yunie! Yunie!" She shouted, "Was it Tidus? Did you hear him? Has he come back? Tellmetellmetellme!"

A slightly startled Yuna replied unenthusiastically, "Yes, at least, I think it's him."

Rikku screamed and threw her arms around Yuna, "Oh Yunie! I'm so happy for you! I'll bet you can't wait to get back to him!"

Yuna smiled back at her and said "Well, I guess—"

"Yuna," Paine called as she slowly descended the stairs, (walking tenderly on the foot Rikku had stomped on after she caught up to Paine) until she was right next to her friend so she could continue without being overheard by Buddy and Brother, "is something wrong?"

Rikku was about to answer for her when Paine shot her a don't-you-dare-say-a-thing look, and Rikku finally noticed that something was very wrong. Yuna was not nearly as excited as she should have been, not even remotely as excited as she was five minutes ago.

"Well," she began, "it's just that… I'm kind of nervous."

Paine nodded, it was understandable, but she sensed that Yuna was leaving something out. The genuine grin of a few minutes earlier had been replaced by a very nervous one, a fake smile, even by Yuna's standards. Looking into Yuna's eyes Paine noticed fear, where she should have seen excitement.

"Follow me Yuna," Paine said as she walked back up the stairs, away from the guys, "I think it's time for a heart-to-heart talk."

Yuna nodded and followed, with Rikku on her heels. Paine sent Rikku another warning glare and silently followed them into the hall connecting the lift and the bridge.

* * *

Tidus removed his hands from his mouth and turned to rest on his back for a moment. How long had it been since he had last whistled for her? It was impossible to keep track of time in the Farplane, so he didn't even know how long he had been gone.

The questions flowed through his head so quickly he could scarcely keep track of them all. "How did I come back? Am I real? Am I back to stay?" Tidus shook his head. He really couldn't worry about that right now, he had only just returned. Besides, why would he be allowed to return if he was going to fade again? He tried to reason with himself, but since he didn't know any details of his return it was impossible to know anything for sure.

His mind wouldn't stop racing, "What about Yuna? Does she even still live here? How long have I been gone for? Has it been too long? Has she…moved on, has she forgotten me?"

Those questions made him sick to his stomach. He hated to think about Yuna being alone and in pain, especially pain because of him. The worst part was he knew that she was, or at least she had been. He had felt her call to him countless times, her whistle crossing over the time and distance between them, asking him to come back, and while he had been completely unable to respond to her, every time she whistled he felt her emotions wash over him, like a snapshot of her thoughts and feelings. As a pyrefly in the Farplane, he had no physical state or presence, but he maintained memories and feelings and could sense them in those around him. Her longing for him was unmistakable, though it had faded over time from heart-wrenching sorrow to a dull aching. This made the thought that she may have moved on without him was strangely bittersweet. Since he had no sense of time in the Farplane, it could have been years or decades since he had disappeared, or even since she had whistled last, and he shuddered at the thought of her being alone for such a time. Even if it meant that they could never be together, he wanted her to be happy. Part of him wished that she would wait, no matter how long it had been, but he dismissed these selfish thoughts.

He was certain of one thing though, he wanted to be with her. He wanted to be the one to make up for the time they had missed together; he wanted to apologize for not running to her every time she whistled. He hoped he hadn't missed anything, that she was still the same beautiful, strong, modest, caring, friendly, and thoroughly wonderful young woman that he had fallen in love with. He hoped it hadn't been long at all, and that she was still waiting for him.

He concluded to himself, as if he were speaking to her, "I'm sorry, Yuna. I'm sorry that I couldn't be with you all this time that I didn't stay with you always. I'm sorry I couldn't come running to you every time you whistled. And I'm sorry I couldn't bring myself to answer you as I was leaving, that I couldn't say what you needed to hear most when I was breaking your heart."

_ "No," Yuna protested as she shook her head sadly, the realization finally setting in on her._

_ "Yuna, I have to go." He replied, trying desperately to hold his composure._

_ She shook her head again, refusing to accept the inevitable._

_ "I'm sorry I couldn't show you Zanarkand." He took a few steps away from Yuna and the others and turned around to look at them, his friends, with whom he had been to hell and back, one last time. "Goodbye." He said finally before turning away to leave them. _

_ Tidus ignored their protests as he walked across the deck. Lulu, the fierce, stern, yet caring black mage, Wakka, the friendly islander who had found him in Besaid and taught him about Spira, and had even led him to Yuna for the first time. Rikku the excitable Al Bhed, who had been the first person he met in Spira, and the other guardian determined to make sure Yuna survived her pilgrimage, Kimahri, the fiercely protective Ronso who had guarded Yuna since her father died defeating Sin ten years earlier, and Yuna, the Summoner who taught him the meaning of the words 'love at first sight.' _

_ "Yuna," Kimahri's deep voice shattered his thoughts, and as she ran towards him one last time, he felt a wave of guilt pass over him; how could he disappear after insisting that she not lay down her life? How could he leave her after promising that they would be together always? How could his dream end, now that the nightmare was over, and for the first time in her life she, and all of Spira, had a future to look forward to? He wanted more than he had wanted anything in his life to stay there with her, but he couldn't. All he could do was to hold her in his arms and console her one last time before he left. _

_He turned around and opened his arms to embrace her, but she passed straight through him and landed fell on the deck. Everyone gasped at the sight._

_ Tidus stood, frozen in shock, as pyreflies emanated from his body, and a horrible feeling of dread, guilt, and sadness overtook him. This was it. He was really fading away. He couldn't even hold her in his final moments. He couldn't comfort her as she needed him to. All he could to was to stay strong, he knew what was happening was tearing her up inside, and he couldn't stand to think that her last memory of him would be him crying._

_ "I love you." _

_Those three words pierced his heart to its core. Who knew that words he would have died to hear just days earlier were so painful when he was, for all intents and purposes, dying? He couldn't bring himself to return them. If he didn't say them, perhaps that would change things somehow. Maybe their love would be less real, and it wouldn't hurt so much now that he was leaving. Could it be better this way somehow? Maybe Yuna would believe that he wasn't her true love and would be able to move on more easily._

_ Instead he approached her and wrapped his fading arms around her, in an emotional, but not physical, embrace. Finally he passed through her and without looking back, lest he hesitate or lose control, jumped off the edge of the airship and faded._

He had regretted that decision his entire existence in the Farplane. Every time that she whistled for him, he chastised himself for how stupid and selfish he had been that day. He had tried to convince himself that he stayed silent for her, but that wasn't the case. Maybe if he didn't admit his feelings to her, he would never have to admit them to himself, and he wouldn't have to constantly deal with the knowledge of how great his loss was. It hadn't worked of course, and he had feared that he would never get another opportunity. Finally, in the Farplane, he saw her again, giving him this chance, of sorts.

_Tidus felt a presence that he hadn't felt since his arrival in the Farplane. A young woman, still alive, but thoroughly distressed, angry, and lonely, had infiltrated the Farplane. It was… Yuna._

_ He didn't know why she was there; only that she needed help. Being a pyrefly he was only able to communicate through memories and emotions, so he reached out to her, into her mind, into her memories of him, and created a whistle. He hated himself for invading her mind like that, but it was the only way he knew to contact her._

_ He could sense the change immediately, as hope overcame her previous flood of emotions. He could neither see nor hear her, but he knew that she had responded. Now he had to lead her away from him again. She didn't belong here. Not yet._

_ He reached into her memories and brought out an image of himself to compliment his whistle and, after some initial confusion, sensed the swirling emotions of the living. He led her back to them, all the while wishing that he could go with her._

_ As she faded away before him, back into the world of the living, he called out to her one last time, "I love you," but she didn't respond. _

_He hoped it might at least partially reconcile his guilt for his failure to return that sentiment as he disappeared. It didn't, but it felt good to finally admit it in her presence, and he had feared it would be the last chance he'd have until she came to the rest in the Farplane forever._

Tidus finally rolled off of his back and began swimming to shore.

"I've been given the second chance that I've wanted for so long, so please," Tidus thought. "Please wait for me, just a little longer, Yuna."


	3. Holding You

**A/N: Flashbacks denoted by **_**italics.**_

**I do not own Final Fantasy X, X-2, or any of these characters.**

* * *

"What's bothering you Yuna?" Paine asked rather bluntly.

"Well I…I…I'm scared."

"Scared of what Yunie?" Rikku asked, "Tidus is finally coming back to you! That's what you wanted isn't it?"

"It is, but… I'm afraid." Yuna was desperately trying to keep herself together, but she was fighting a losing battle, and was crying before she knew it. For the first time since becoming a Gullwing, after months of fruitless searching, saving Spira, being possessed by a ghost of 1000 years past, and fighting someone who looked just like him, she was crying on the day she discovered she would finally see him again.

"Yunie," Rikku stepped forward to hold and comfort Yuna. "Why are you afraid? He was always there for you during your pilgrimage. Do you think something's changed somehow?" Rikku patted her gently as her tears fell on Rikku's shoulder.

Paine watched silently, but couldn't help but think that the catharsis might be good for Yuna. She had kept her emotions bottled up for too long.

"I…I've waited to see him again for so long. I…I just wish that I knew he felt the same way about m…me." Yuna explained through her sobs.

"Of course he does Yunie! Didn't you notice? How he protected you, how he couldn't stand the thought of you losing your life to defeat Sin, how he always worried about where you were and what you wanted to do, how he'd always make excuses to go to you even if you had said you wanted to be left alone?" Rikku gently pried Yuna off her shoulder so that she could look her in the eye. "He loved you Yunie, that's why he called to you. He wants to see you again."

Yuna's eyes lit up, as she realized the foolishness of her paranoia, but she quickly looked down and muttered softly, "then why didn't he tell me?"

Paine answered her, "Yuna, I've never met him, and I can't explain why he didn't tell you, but if everything I've heard about him is true, then he'll have regretted not telling you every moment since he left, and now that he's back, there's no way he'll make that mistake again."

"You…you really think so?"

"I know so. Trust me Yuna, when you get a second chance at life like this, there are things you _never _take for granted again."

Yuna face broke into a grin. "Thank you both!" She cried suddenly, throwing herself into an embrace around Paine, who, surprisingly, returned it, even when Rikku joined in.

Still, something Rikku had said, or rather the way she had said it, was bothering Yuna.

Suddenly the elevator door jerked open, causing them to jump back in surprise as Cid stepped through the doors.

"Oh, sorry, am I interrupting anything?"

Rikku rolled her eyes.

"No Cid, just girl talk," Paine replied.

"Oh, is that what this is? I really need to talk with girls more often!"

"Pops!" Interjected Rikku.

"Right, well I just came up here to find out why we changed course all of a sudden, and why we're going so damn fast. You don't want to ruin this bucket of bolts, you know."

"It's… oh you'll see soon enough." Rikku replied.

"Huh? Hey, what are you planning, Rikku?"

"Let's just say that Yunie's gonna meet up with an old friend of ours." Rikku said with a grin.

"What the hell are ya talkin' about?"

"Uh-uh, you'll just have to wait and see!" Rikku skipped away, with Cid hot on her heels.

Paine shook her head, "At least we know where she gets it from," she muttered. Yuna giggled.

"You going to be ok, Yuna?" Paine asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine now, thanks. I was just being silly."

Paine shook her head again, "You weren't being silly. If I were about to see my boyfriend for the first time in two years, I'd be anxious too. Just relax; I'm sure he can't wait to see you." With that, Paine turned and walked away, leaving Yuna alone again.

Rikku's words continued to echo through Yuna's mind, "He loved you Yunie," she had said, and Yuna knew it was true, now that she looked back on their time together, but would he still? Yuna looked at herself, she had changed a lot in two years, changes for the better, she thought, but would he see it that way?

"He will," she tried to tell herself, "He'll look at me, and see that I'm still the same person I was before he left, just stronger and more outgoing now. After all we've been through together, and all the time we've been separated, it'll take a lot more than a few personality changes to keep us from being together." She wasn't quite convinced though, "If he really loves me, then he'll accept me, if he doesn't, then…" Yuna chose not to pursue that possibility.

Without warning, as always, Rikku burst into the hallway. "Yunie! Yunie! We're almost to Besaid! C'mon and see!" With that, she turned and ran out, with Yuna right behind her.

Yuna felt her heart race as she ran to look out the front windshield, where Besaid Island was clearly visible and growing ever larger. This was it, the moment of truth, the time to find out if what she heard was real, or just her mind playing tricks on her. Yuna's heart raced as her eyes scanned the approaching beach.

* * *

Tidus looked around at the Besaid beach as he waded ashore and thought, "Everything looks basically the same, it can't have been that long, can it?" Suddenly Tidus's ears detected something approaching quickly. It sounded like… a machina? When he looked to the source, he saw an airship making its way over the island, but it looked different than Cid's airship.

"Wow, I was wrong." He realized, "Spira has changed." He stared in awe as the airship continued its approach, "Cid's airship used to be the only one in Spira, but now there's at least one more too."

"Huh?" The sound of the giant airship brushing against the water snapped Tidus out of his trance as he realized that the ship was headed directly towards him.

"Damn!" Tidus braced for the worst, but felt only water washing over him as the huge airship miraculously avoided him. Behind him, he heard the sound of a hatch opening.

* * *

Yuna peered down towards the beach, where just offshore a lone figure caught her attention. Blond hair, yellow jacket, blue overalls, Yuna broke into a grin, and all her previous worries evaporated in an instant. "Tidus! That's him!" She shouted pointing down toward the beach.

Rikku squealed with delight, "You see him? Where is he? I can't find him!" She bounced over to where Yuna was standing.

Yuna was too excited to notice and ordered, "Brother, land the ship now!"

"Roger!!!" He replied.

Yuna waited what seemed like an eternity for the ship to land. "Be patient Yuna, you've waited two years for this, what's another minute? Oh, who am I kidding?"

"Buddy, lower the ramp!" Yuna called.

Buddy looked bewildered, and replied "but Yuna, we'll be on the ground in two minutes, it's dangerous to get off now, can't you—"

"Now Buddy!" Yuna interrupted him.

He sighed, "Ok, if you say so Yuna." He lowered the ramp, "Don't hurt yourself!" He called as Yuna sprinted away.

As she looked down the ramp, Yuna shouted over her shoulder, "Don't worry, I can fly." She cringed at the memory of the last time she had used those words.

_It was Yuna's wedding day, but it was not a happy occasion. She was marrying Seymour Guado, supposedly to make amends with Yevon, but really for the opportunity to get close enough to send him. Her guardians had come to rescue her, but were stopped at gunpoint in front of the altar, and she was forced to finish the wedding, or else they would be executed._

_ The ceremony continued, and despite the protests of her guardians, Seymour took her by the shoulders, leaned in and kissed her._

_ It was… bland. There was no meaning to it other than power, and while Yuna knew she was being used by Seymour to gain more influence, she was powerless to do anything about it. _

_ What was worse was the wave of guilt that washed over her as his slimy lips pressed to hers, and she thought of her guardians watching on the steps below, especially her newest guardian, Tidus, "Why do I feel like I'm betraying them, like I'm betraying him, when I'm saving their lives?" she wondered._

_ At last, they separated, and Seymour spat out the words, "Kill them." _

_ Yuna gasped, and her heart skipped a beat. After all she'd been through with them, after what she'd just gone through to save them, she refused to allow them to be killed so easily. She searched desperately for a way out and determined that she was her own ace-in-the-hole. Behind her she saw the streets of Bevelle, easily twenty stories below them._

_ "No!" Yuna shouted, displaying anger that she rarely showed. All eyes immediately turned to her, "throw down your weapons, let them go, or else…" She took a few steps back towards the edge of the roof._

_ Seeing he had no choice, Seymour ordered his guards to stand down, for fear of losing his newly acquired bride._

_ Immediately, Tidus and the others were by her side, and as much as she wanted to go with them, to forget all about that awful day, she knew that to do so would seal their fate. She pleaded with them to go, to leave her, that she would be fine, but Tidus would have none of it, until Seymour, ever calm, pointed out the obvious._

_ "This is foolish. If you fall, you'll die."_

_ "No, I can't let that happen. Spira still needs me." Yuna thought to herself as she defiantly wiped off Seymour's kiss. _

_ She turned back to her friends and said, with a faint smile forming "Don't worry, I can fly. Believe." _

_ With that she folded her arms over her chest and slowly leaned backwards off the roof, fell freely, and summoned Valefor, her flying aeon, to rescue her._

Yuna shook off the memory of her marriage to Seymour and smiled, knowing that this time she wasn't falling to escape a man she hated, but to reunite with the one that she loved. Her heart raced as she slid to the edge of the ramp, and jumped to the beach below her.

* * *

Tidus looked around, mesmerized by the airship which had nearly killed him until he heard something, or rather, someone, hit the ground behind him.

As he watched the young woman approaching him, he wondered, "Could that really be—Yuna?" She looked different than when he last saw her. Her hair was shorter, and she was wearing much more… revealing attire. But when he looked at her closely, and noticed her beautiful face, her multi-colored eyes, her warm smile, and her wonderful laugh, he knew there wasn't anyone else it could be.

For a brief moment, both of them thought back to the last time she had run towards him, their last moment together, when Yuna had fallen through his embrace and landed on the deck of Cid's airship.

"Please," Tidus thought as he opened his arms, "please let me hold her this time. Let me stay with her and comfort her, always."

Yuna thought, "Please let me hold him again, please just this one thing. Let him catch me this time. Let him catch me every time." She closed her eyes and braced herself for the worst, to pass through him, and land hard on the ground once again.

"Oomph," she was roused from her fears when she ran into something solid—him. For the first time in over two years, they held each other again.

Yuna wanted to remain in his warm, comforting embrace forever, but lingering doubts clouded her mind.

"Are you real?" She finally managed, hoping, praying that he would assure her again that he would be with her forever.

The question hit Tidus like a ton of bricks. How badly must Yuna have been hurting to ask him that question? But as much as he wanted to promise her that he was back for good, he couldn't, not unless he was sure. "Am I real?" He had asked himself that question after reappearing, and now he wondered again. He felt real, he felt as good as he ever had, "but I've never been real before. Why should now be any different?"

A part of him said, "Because, Yuna sent the aeons and the Fayth are resting, how else could I have come back?"

Finally Tidus replied, "I think so."

"He thinks so?" Yuna felt her arms and face fall, that wasn't the answer she'd been hoping to hear. Slowly she lifted her gaze to meet his again. He held her shoulders gently, and her hands rested on his chest.

Tidus could see the sadness, worry, and pain in her eyes when they met his again. He felt a pang of guilt run through him, and he vowed to do whatever he could to replace her pain with joy, if he could only convince her to give him the chance.

"Do I pass?"

Yuna smiled in spite of herself as she nodded. Just moments earlier she had been afraid that he would reject her, that he would never want to see her again. Now he was the one asking for her acceptance.

She cocked her head slightly to the side, "You're back." It was as much a question as it was a statement.

"I am back," Tidus confirmed, Yuna's arms fell, as she took in his statement, but Tidus pulled her back into a hug and exclaimed, "I'm home!"

"Welcome home!" Yuna managed, scarcely able to believe what Tidus had just told her.

During her pilgrimage, for the entire time that she had known him, he had talked about going home, back to Zanarkand, back to the glorious machina city. "I'm home," she played his words over and over in her mind, meaning more to her than he could possibly know. She felt her fears and reservations melting away. She didn't know exactly how he had come back, and she didn't know if he was back for good. It seemed that even he didn't know the answer to that, "But he's home now, because he's with me." She thought happily. That was enough, at least, for now.

Yuna wrapped her arms around him, to return his embrace, and agreed, "Yes home," nothing more needed to be said, and they both wished that the moment would last forever.

They stood together, lost in their own world, savoring a moment that had been far too long in coming. The couple was separated from reality so much that they didn't realize they were being watched, not only by Rikku and Paine, who had exited the airship now that it had safely come to a stop, but by nearly all the inhabitants of Besaid, who had come to the beach to investigate the commotion.

"Hey," a familiar voice brought Tidus and Yuna out of their trance, "Get a room you two!" They finally looked up and saw everyone from the island on the beach watching them, whistling and catcalling, including Wakka, who spoke again for everyone, "Wassup?"

Unfazed, Tidus dismissed him with a wave of his hand, "who asked you to watch Wakka?"

Yuna suppressed a laugh, he hadn't changed a bit. While she was embarrassed to be caught in even such an innocent display of affection by so many people she knew, it didn't seem to bother him at all. His upbeat and carefree attitude was one of the things she loved most about him, and she was relieved that that hadn't changed.

Wakka, meanwhile, chuckled at his old friend's response, and looked back at his wife, holding their sleeping son in her arms. He couldn't wait to see the look on Tidus' face when he heard this news.

Rikku feeling slightly left out of all the attention couldn't help but call out, "Hiya!" As she waved her arms over her head, "Maybe we'll even get to have a party after all!" The giddy Al Bhed thought.

Paine rolled her eyes. Rikku was bouncing again, and she could practically hear the little wheels turning in her head. "Oh well, I guess we have earned a party," she thought.

Tidus could scarcely believe his luck. Hours ago, he had been in the Farplane, with no idea how or even if he could get back to Yuna, to keep that promise he made to her. Now not only was he at her side, but he was about to see all his old friends again.

He took her hand, and gestured a 'c'mon' as he lead her towards the beach, towards Besaid, their home. They ran, laughed, and splashed their way their together, until suddenly he saw Yuna pass him.

"Huh? Hey! Whoa!" The shock of Yuna passing him, combined with her suddenly pulling on _his _arm nearly caused him to fall.

"Well this is new," he thought to himself with a smile.

"You know, you've changed," he told her, aloud this time, as their destination approached.

Words which she had dreaded hearing less than an hour earlier now seemed so harmless now. His tone of voice alone told Yuna that she had nothing to worry about. He was excited, as if he couldn't wait to learn more about what she had been doing, and despite all the ways that she had changed since he left, and all the new changes she would undergo with him at her side, she knew he would see that deep down, she was the same person.

"Well you've missed a few things," she replied.

"I want to hear everything!"

Yuna was ecstatic. During her entire adventure, she had hoped, prayed, pleaded, and pretended that she would get the chance to tell him about what she was doing, about her journey to find him. Now she had that opportunity, but where to begin?

"Well, it all started when I saw this sphere of you," she began as they reached the beach together, for the first time, of the island they both called home.

THE END

**A/N: That's it, at least for now. A sequel is still up in the air. If you liked what you read, and you want to read more, drop a review to let me know. Think it could be better? Leave a review and let me know what you didn't like. Otherwise, hope you enjoyed. **


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